The Effects of Coating with Different Plant Extracts on Microbiological and Sensory Attributes of Fresh Kashar Cheese

In this study, the kashar cheeses coated with the locust bean gum that contained ethanol extracts of five different plants. The changes in microbiological and sensory attributes of the samples were examined during the 28 days storage periods. Microorganism numbers of all samples increased at the end of storage period (P <0.05). The total number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and psychrophilic bacteria in the coated with plant extracts samples were found to be 1 log and the number of yeast molds was 3.5 log lower than the control sample (P <0.05). At the end of storage, it was determined that the lowest total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (4.98 log cfu / g), psychrophilic bacteria (2.81 log cfu / g) and yeast mold count (4.59 log cfu / g) were in the coated cheese samples produced with cinnamon extract. In addition, total coliform group and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial growth were not detected in any of our samples during storage period. According to the results of sensory analysis, the overall acceptability scores of all samples except the control sample increased during the first 15 days but decreased at the end of storage (P <0.05). As a result of 28 days of storage period, the most admired samples were cheese samples coated with rosemary extract with an overall rating of 6.80 (P <0.05)